A remote control apparatus (remote control) is a common method of operating a television set (hereinafter referred to as television). The use of a remote control enables a television to be operated from a location separated from the television such as a sofa from which the television is viewed without having to approach a television main body in order to operate switches or buttons provided on the television main body.
Generally, a remote control comes with a television upon purchase and is therefore readily obtained. In addition, some remote controls are sold separate from television main bodies.
In particular, the recent digitalization of televisions and an increasing range of functions being offered have led to an increase in the functions and the number of buttons in remote controls, making operations more complex. For example, types of broadcasting now available include terrestrial analog broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, cable broadcasting and the like, necessitating a switch or a button to switch among the types of broadcasting. In addition, a setting menu, an Electronic Program Guide, or the like of a television is displayed as a GUI (graphical user interface) on a screen, and operations thereof necessitate buttons for moving a focal point on the screen upward, downward, leftward, or rightward, buttons for selecting a specific menu or button on the screen, and the like.
Remote controls have been realized which feature ingeniously designed button arrangements, labeling, and the like for the purpose of simplifying such complicated operations.
In addition, remote controls referred to as “simplified remote controls” have been realized which place emphasis on button size and the ease in operating buttons and which limit the number of buttons and functions that can be operated.
One such remote control is a remote control apparatus capable of improving operability by informing a viewer of a classification among program information in such a manner that the classification can be confirmed at a glance (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-072557). The remote control apparatus according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-072557 receives program genre information from a television, assigns a color to a channel key button based on the program genre information, and lights an LED built into the channel key button.